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Scriptural verses are drawn from the New Jerusalem Bible, NKJV,
NIV, ISV and Catholic Bible.

Chapter 1

The Faith

Many
people “believe” in God. Filthy sinners “believe” in God.
Filthy “Christians” “believe” in God. Even demons “believe”
in God. From the scriptures, we know that anyone who believes in the
Son of God will be saved (John 3.16-18). At the same time, we know
from the scriptures that not everyone who calls Jesus Christ, Lord,
will be saved (Mathew 7.21). Some “believe” but they will not be
saved while others believe and they will be saved. There is a faith
that is dead faith. This dead faith does not give salvation. There is
another faith that is true faith. The true faith gives salvation.
What is the true faith?

True
faith in God is living and active. Living faith bears fruit. Faith in
God is not only spoken but is action oriented. To believe in God is
to believe with your entire being. Faith in God is to believe with
your heart that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the
world, the way to the Heavenly Father, the true Shepherd and he is
king of kings and Lord of Lords (Romans 10.9-10; Rev. 19.20; John
10.11, 36).

To believe in Him, we need to know
him.

1. He is the Savior of the world. He saves us from sin and death
(Mathew 1.21). Those who believe in him as the savior go to him in
repentance for the forgiveness of their sins and power to stop
sinning. During the time of the Lord’s earthly life, the people of
Israel “believed” in God but their kind of faith could not save
them. John the Baptist challenged the people to believe in God by
bearing fruit of repentance. John the Baptist preached the faith of
repentance (Mathew 3.2; Acts 13.24, 19.4). The Lord Jesus preached
the faith of repentance (Mathew 4.17). Repentance for the forgiveness
of sins is the gospel that leads one into the kingdom of God (Luke
24.47). A true believer bears the fruit of repentance (Mathew 3.8;
Acts 26.20). The one who has truly believed is the one who has
repented from his sinful way of life.

Repentance
is the faith that saves.

Any
other faith that does not produce the fruit of repentance is dead
faith. Faith that does not cause one to stop sinning is dead faith.
If you believe in God and are still sinning, or having the tendency
to sin, then you have not believed at all.

It is
only on the grounds of the faith of repentance that one really
becomes part of the church of Christ. It is only on the base of the
faith of repentance that one can be given water baptism (Mathew 3.11;
Acts 2.38 ISV). Without repentance, there is no water baptism. John
the Baptist preached repentance unto baptism. A repentant sinner
receives forgiveness from God and cleansing in the blood of Christ
(Acts 3.19).

2. He is the way, the truth and life. He is the only one that can
lead us to the heavenly kingdom. No one can get to the Heavenly
Father except through him. Anyone who rejects him has rejected the
Heavenly Father. Those who believe in Him as the way to the Father
follow him. He is the reconciliation between us and the Heavenly
Father (Romans 5.10-11). This reconciliation brings:

--Peace and Joy: The believer finds a profound peace and joy after
receiving forgiveness of his sins. He begins to offer praises to God
for salvation.

--Awaken conscience: The believer’s conscience gets awaken. He is
no longer comfortable with sin.

--Hunger for God’s word: The new believer starts to have a hunger
for God’s word

--Desire to obey God: The new believer begins to obey God’s word.

Those
who believe in Him as truth and life go to him to receive knowledge
and life.

3. He is Lord and king. He is the Lord and king over those who obey
him. Those who believe that he is Lord of Lords and King of kings
obey him. Those who obey him will inherit the kingdom of God.

4. He is the true Shepherd and only Master. He is the one that leads
us to perfect restoration. He is the one who trains us to become like
him. Those who seek perfection must follow him daily in total
self-denial, obedience and trust. His disciples must have their eyes
stayed on him.

5. He is holy. Those who believe that he is the holy one must deny
sin and pursue holy lives. Only those who live after righteousness
and holiness belong to him. He is Holy. He died to save us from our
sins so that we can be holy as he is. To believe in him is to take
after his righteousness and holiness. To believe in him is to change
your mind, deeds, and desires to His.

The Lord
Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. Our faith is on a
journey. The journey starts when we repent of our sins in faith that
he is the way to the Heavenly Father & the savior of the word. It
progresses when we deny ourselves in faith that he is the Master and
Shepherd of our souls. It reaches completion when in sufferings; we
obey him perseveringly till the end even at the cost of our lives.

Chapter 2

Salvation

What is Salvation?

Salvation
means to save from sin/evil and its consequences. Salvation is the
process of saving man from sin and death (consequence of sin). The
process begins with the forgiveness of sins, to attaining holiness
and ends with overcoming the second death in the resurrection. In
other words, it is the justification, sanctification and salvation of
man from death.

Justification: This is the forgiveness of
sins and reconciliation of man to God by faith in the Lord Jesus. The
man who has been reconciled to God is called righteous. The Lord
Jesus was punished for the sin of the world. He is the reconciliation
between man and God. Man was separated from God and was doomed die
because of sin. For man to unite with God again, the sin (which
caused the division) must be punished. The Lord received the
punishment for us all. In his name, repentance for the forgiveness of
sins is preached to all mankind.

Sanctification: Sanctification is the
complete restoration of man from sin & the sinful nature. It is
the process of changing man’s sinful nature to God’s holy nature.
The sinful nature is not taken away at once when we first believe
(when we obtain justification); only our past sins are washed away.
Our sinful nature is taken off gradually as we walk with Christ and
follow him daily. Those who follow him receive power to deal away
with the sinful nature (Romans 6.12-14). The purpose of
sanctification is to make us perfectly holy. The man who has been
sanctified is called holy.

Salvation from second death: The
unrighteous and filthy will be punished by death in the lake of fire
after the white throne judgement. Only those whose names are found in
the book of life will be saved from the second death in the lake of
fire. Those whose names are in the book of life are all the holy
people and some righteous people. Sin leads unto death. To be saved
from death, you will first need to be saved from sin. The Lord will
resurrect to life the righteous people true to him. The sinners will
die.

Every
believer must work out his salvation with fear and trembling to
dominate sin and be victorious over death (Phil 2.12). Believers must
work out their salvation by putting off the old sinful nature and
putting on the new holy nature. Those who are holy are guaranteed of
salvation.

Is our salvation from the second death
guaranteed once we believe?

Believing
in the Lord Jesus at one point in your life does not guarantee
salvation from death. It is believing in the LORD Jesus till the
end that guarantees salvation from death (Mat 11.22).

He who
believes in the Lord Jesus has stopped sinning and lives to obey God.
If a believer at any time in his life stops believing, that is, he
goes back to sinning, he may lose his salvation because his name will
be removed from the book of life (Rev.3.7). The Lord Jesus will give
eternal salvation only to those who obey him (Hebrews 5.9). We repent
from our sins unto holiness that leads to eternal life.

Will all righteous people be saved from the
second death?

Not all
righteous people will be saved but all holy people will be saved.

For it is time for judgement to
begin with God’s household, and if it begins with us, what will the
outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if
it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the
ungodly and the sinner? (1 Peter 4.17-18NIV)

Every act
of disobedience is a sin. Yet, it is not all sins that lead unto
death (1 John 5.15-17). The sins that leads unto death (Rev 21.6-8;
22.15) include;

--Refusal
to believe in the Lord Jesus

--Sorcery/witchcraft

--Murder

--Hypocrisy
and being untruthful

--All
sexual sins

--Idolatry
(includes greed – Col.3.5)

Not all
righteous people will inherit salvation but all holy people will. A
believer who has not has not yet attained perfection in holiness can
still be saved by the Lord from death if he does not commit the above
deadly sins. A believer who still engages in these filthy practices
will die with the unrighteous (Romans 8.12-13). The Lord Jesus will
fetch out of his kingdom all righteous people who are bad (Mathew
1.47-50).

A sick
believer who has not committed any of these deadly sins can call for
the elders of the church to pray for him to get well. The Lord God
will hear their prayer and forgive his sins (so long as they are not
deadly sins) and he will be well again. However, if a believer has
committed a deadly sin, he will not be restored to health no matter
the number of petitions made to the Lord except he confesses and
repents of his sin and is cleansed by the blood of Christ.

The sole
purpose of the death of the Lord Jesus was to take away sins. We must
not only be careful to avoid the deadly sins but to pursue complete
restoration through obedience. Only those who are completely restored
(perfect in holiness) will become the bride of Christ (Eph. 5.27).

Believers
who continue in filthy sins will have their names removed from the
book of life (Rev. 3.2-5; Heb. 10.26-29).

Chapter 3

Being Born Again

To be
born again means to become a new man. To become a new man is to
become like Christ. When you first believe and are reconciled to God,
the life of the eternal God enters in you through faith. However, you
are not yet a completely new man because your sinful nature still
dominates. Being born again is a process. It begins when you first
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and it ends when you become like
Christ in nature and works. A believer who still commits sinful acts
or behaves/thinks in a way that is not Christ like is not yet fully
born again. As Christ is in nature (holy, faithful and loving, etc.),
so are we to be in this world. To be born again is to be born of both
water and spirit. Some may have been born of water but they are still
to be born of spirit.

Jesus replied, "Truly, I say
to you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again
from above." Nicodemus said, "How can there be rebirth for
a grown man? Who could go back to his mother's womb and be born
again?" Jesus replied, "Truly, I say to you: No
one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and
Spirit (John 3.3-6).

Born of Water

The word of God is
water. It cleanses our hearts when we receive it in faith (Acts
15.9). A person who hears the word of God and does not believe with
his heart cannot experience this cleansing. It is the word of God
received in faith that causes a man to be born of water (1 Peter
1.23; Eph.5.26). A person who is born of water receives the life of
the eternal God into his heart (Titus 3.5). This life is like a cup
of water that becomes a well, springing up to eternal life (John
4.14). Water baptism is an outside symbol of cleansing that has taken
place within. It is also public declaration of the faith that is
within.

We are born of water
when we receive the word of God with faith (Ephesians 5.26). The
living faith causes the word to wash us within and bring life inside
of us (Acts 15.9). It is by this washing of water for rebirth that we
become righteous. One who is born of water receives the first
purification by obeying God’s first command: to believe in His son,
Jesus Christ (1 John 3.23). This is the first work that God requires
of all men to do so as to be saved (John 6.28).

Born of Spirit

To be
born of spirit means to put on God’s nature. Our old sinful nature
is gone and we have put on a new nature – the nature of Christ
Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, you become a new spirit
with a new personality.

To be
born of Spirit means that you have put off the old man (the old
spirit) with his deeds and put on the new man Christ Jesus with his
deeds (Romans 13.14; Gal 3.27). To be born of Spirit means to be
perfected in holiness (2 Corinthians 7.1 KJV). One who is born of
Spirit has been transformed into the image of Christ; his spirit
becomes like Christ. He is completely different from his old self.
His new spirit is the Christ like spirit. He no longer commits sin
because he is now like Christ-the sinless one. He bears the full
testimony of 2 Corinthians 5.17; Therefore if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all
things are become new.

Those who carry the
cross of self-denial and discipleship are the ones on the path that
leads to the perfection in spirit. Not every believer gets to be a
disciple because not every believer is willing to pay the price. It
is by obedience that we purify ourselves into being born of spirit.
We are changed daily in our spirits as we follow the Lord daily till
we attain perfection.

We must
die in order to become truly born again. “Truly, I say to you,
unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains
alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit”. It is by
carrying the cross of self-denial that we become born of spirit. The
new man (one who is born of Spirit) does not sin nor can he sin
because he has put on the loving nature of Christ (1 John 4.7). To be
born of water can be instantaneous but becoming born of spirit takes
some time and it demands our full cooperation with the Holy Spirit.

The seed
of life implanted in our hearts at conversion makes us children of
God but it needs to grow and bear fruits to make us sons of God. A
child who has not yet grown into sonship cannot manage his father’s
house. When the seed of human life (male sperm) is deposited in a
woman’s womb, she becomes pregnant. A pregnant woman is not said to
be with seed rather she is said to be with child. That child needs to
undergo a nine months transformation for him to become human to be
born on the earth. So too, when we believe God’s word, the seed of
God’s life is implanted in us. We become born of water when we
receive the word of God (the seed) in faith but we must undergo a
transformation process to have a change of nature to be born of
spirit. Those born of spirit are a line of kings and priests who will
rule the future earth and serve God.

To be
born of Spirit is to become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus
(2 Corinthians 5.21). We become the righteousness of God in Christ
Jesus when God’s righteousness is revealed through our new Christ
like person. When we have put on Christ Jesus and his works, we
become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus because God’s
righteous nature is seen through our new nature.

Chapter 4

The Grace of God

The grace
of God does not mean that our salvation is guaranteed once we
“believe” irrespective of our deeds. On the day of judgement, all
men shall be judged by their deeds (Rev 20.11-15). The grace of God
does not mean that God will not punish the righteous who commit
willful and filthy sins. The wrath of God hangs on all ungodliness
(Romans 1.18; Romans 2.5-8).

The grace of God is the love of
God towards us in that He enables us to save ourselves from sin and
death by obeying the righteous demands of the Law of God in Christ
Jesus. He enables us to believe in the Lord Jesus unto repentance and
to keep his commandments unto holiness which leads to eternal life.

The Grace
of God is the death of His Son for the pardon of the sin of the world
and the reconciliation of the world to God.

The Grace
of God leads us unto repentance. God has forgiven us in Christ Jesus
but we receive His forgiveness only when we repent of our sinful
living (Mark 1.4; Luke 5.32; Luke 24.47; Acts 2.38; Acts 3.19; Acts
5.31; Acts 8.28; Acts 11.18; Acts 26.20). The fruit of repentance is
turning away from sinful deeds. Repentance and receiving forgiveness
from God are inseparable. Only those who have received forgiveness
will be saved from his wrath. The Lord Jesus is going to come back to
punish sinful believers (Mathew 13.41; Mathew 13.24-30; Mathew
7.22-23). The Lord will send out his angels to weed out of his
kingdom all that are scandalous and all who do evil (Mathew 13.41).

The Grace
of God leads us to perfection. One who is full of the grace of God is
the one who no longer commits sins and has put on God’s holy
nature.

Chapter 5

The Law

God does
not call believers to live lawlessly. Grace is not lawlessness. The
new covenant does not mean that no laws.

Are the New Covenant People free from the
law of God?

Certainly
Not!

Christians
are not under the old Mosaic Law i.e. the laws of the old covenant.
They are under the law of Christ. The lawless or lawbreakers have no
part in the kingdom of Heaven (Mathew 7.23 ESV, NLT, YLT; 2 Peter
3.17; 1 John 3.4).

To those not having the law, I
became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s
law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the
law (1 Corinthians 9.21NIV).

Do we, then, deny the value of
the Law because of what we say of faith? Of course not; rather we
place the Law in its proper place (Romans 3.31)

God hated
sin in the past and he still hates sin today. God often chastised
Israel for disobeying His laws.

The Lord
warned all those who break the law and teach others to do same
(Mathew 5.17-19). The Lord Jesus did not come to destroy but to
fulfill the law. He did not fulfill the law by obeying its letter. He
fulfilled the law by obeying the spirit of the law – the law of
love. By his death on the cross, the love of God was poured on
mankind.

The Lord
taught the people the spirit of the law and not just the letter. He
renewed the law on murder, marriage; the law of eye for an eye; love
etc.

In the
old law, killing someone was a sin of murder. The Lord renewed the
law on murder; anyone who is angry with his brother for no just cause
or anyone who humiliates his brother and insult him is a murderer and
such a one is under the danger of being brought before trial and sent
to hell (Mathew 5.21-24).

In the
old law, divorce was granted for any reason by simply giving the
divorced a writ of divorce. The Lord renewed the law on divorce;
anyone who divorced his wife for any other reason than fornication,
was guilty of adultery and any man who marries a divorced woman is
guilty of adultery. If a married man looks at a woman with lust in
his heart, he has committed adultery (Mathew 5.27-28, 31-32).

In the
old law, it was okay to hate your enemy and love those who love you.
The Lord renewed the law on love: love your enemy, do good to those
who hate you, pray for those who mistreat you, give to all who ask,
lend without expecting any returns, strive not with the wicked, etc.
Let the light of your love shine so that you can become children of
God (Mathew 5.38-48).

The letter cannot cover every aspect
of the spirit. The letter cannot deal with the things of the heart
such as the lust, the anger, and hatred. Only the law of the spirit
can cover things such as these because the spirit searches very deep
into a man’s heart.

God’s
law was never taken away from us rather it was brought to its proper
footing – the spirit of the law. The Lord Jesus summarized all the
requirements of the law into one law (John 15.12, 17; Romans 13; 1
John 3.23, John 2.1-11).

"Now I give you a new
commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also
must love one another. "By this everyone will know that you are
my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13.34).

The law
of love is very deep and profound and it cannot be fully broken down
into acts and written down. Love fulfills the law of Christ. It
demands integrity in keeping your words rather than from swearing an
oath. It refuses tooth for tooth or eye for eye rather it repays evil
with good. It demands mercy and not judgement. The law of love covers
the entire law of God and it can only be fulfilled in spirit and not
in letter. Each circumstance we encounter in life will demand us to
operate in love. We cannot write down every situation nor can we
write down all the evil in our hearts. It is by allowing ourselves to
be led by the Spirit that we will be able to walk in love in every
circumstance and thus fulfill the law of God. The fruit of the
Spirit is love (Galatians 5.22). The believer who bears this fruit
satisfies the law of God.

Believers
in Christ Jesus have been made free from the old covenant law system
(written laws obeyed in human strength). Believers have been
transferred to a new covenant law system, a living way, the way of
the spirit. (The law on love is obeyed by walking in the Spirit).

The time is coming - it is Yahweh
who speaks - when I will forge a new covenant with the people of
Israel and the people of Judah. It will not be like the one I made
with their fathers when I took them by the hand and led them out of
Egypt. For they broke my covenant although I was their Lord. This is
the covenant I shall make with Israel after that time: I will put my
Law within them and write it on their hearts; I will be their God and
they will be my people. And they will not have to teach each other,
neighbor or brother, saying: 'Know the Lord,' because they will all
know me, from the greatest to the lowliest, for I will forgive their
wrongdoing and no longer remember their sin." This is the word
of Yahweh (Jeremiah 31.31-35).

How do we fulfill the righteous demands of
the law of Christ?

The new
covenant operates in spirit and not tablets of stone. It checks out
the lust in a man’s heart and not just the outward act of adultery.
The righteous demands of the law are fulfilled in believers only when
they walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh. If we do not walk
after the Spirit, we will not be able to fulfill the requirements of
the law because the flesh is too weak to obey God. If we do not
operate in the power of the Holy Spirit, we will not be able to obey
God even if we are willing.

That the righteousness of the law
might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit. …… For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die:
but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye
shall live (Romans 8.13)

Man
cannot obey God in human strength. In the human nature, the law of
sin operates and thus, it will not allow man to obey God (Romans
7.18-25).

The only
way to obey God is in Christ Jesus. We must be led by Him (His
Spirit) and not by our human nature. We must abide in him and draw
life from him. It is his life that strengthens us to obey God. We
must give up trying to obey God in our natural strength and look to
his life deposited inside of us.

If we
continue to walk after the flesh and do its works, and satisfy its
desires, we shall surely die.We are set free (made righteous)
to fight for our salvation by putting on holiness which is attained
in the way of love (1 Peter 1.22; 1 Peter 4.8). We are set free to
obey God so that we can obtain the crown of life (James 1.11-12).

Chapter 6

Good Works

Dead
faith does not save. Faith that is not evidenced by good deeds does
not save.

Faith and
good deeds are inseparable. Good deeds are the evidence of true
faith. A righteous man who does bad things will not be saved. He has
not proven his faith in the Lord Jesus. An unrighteous man who does
good things will not be saved. He has not yet done the first primary
work of believing in the Lord Jesus to be saved.

"What good is it, my
brothers and sisters, to profess faith without showing works? Such
faith has no power to save you” (James 2.14).

The
apostolic epistles are filled with exhortations unto good works:

"Do not neglect good works
and common life, for these are sacrifices pleasing to God"
(Hebrews 13.16).

And let us consider one another
to provoke unto love and to good works (Hebrews 10.24)

This is the truth. I want you to
insist on these things, for those who believe in God must excel in
good deeds; that is what matters and is profitable to us (Titus 3.8).

Did the cross of Christ free us from the
obligation of doing good works?

Certainly
Not!

We were
created by God in Christ Jesus for the purpose of good works.

For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of
works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that
we should walk in them (Ephesian 2.8-10).

Apostle
Paul was explaining the journey of salvation. We are saved by grace
through faith in Christ Jesus to do good deeds. We obtain salvation
by believing in the Son of God for the purpose of doing good deeds.
He saves us so that we can do good deeds. Believers who do good deeds
truly belong to him because they are walking according to his
purpose.

Even if
we do all the world’s good deeds we shall not be saved if we do not
believe in Christ Jesus. There was a Roman Centurion in Caesarea
called Cornelius. He and his whole household were devout and God
fearing. He gave generously to Jewish causes and prayed constantly to
God. He had not yet believed in the Lord Jesus, the way of salvation.
His prayers and charitable gifts reached the heavens and the Lord God
sent an angel to tell him to send for Apostle Peter. The Lord God
wanted Apostle Peter to show Cornelius the way of Salvation, Jesus
Christ, so that he and his household could be saved (Acts 10).

It is the
will of God that we do good deeds. Not all who calls him Lord shall
be saved but only those who do the will of the father.

Not everyone who says to me:
Lord! Lord! will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does
the will of my heavenly Father. Many will say to me on that day,
"Lord, Lord, did we not speak in your name? Did we not cast out
devils and perform many miracles in your name?" Then I will tell
them openly: I have never known you; away from me, you evil people!
(Mathew 7.22-23).

So you
see, doing good deeds is salvation. It seals our faith in Him and our
salvation too. There is no point believing if we will not do good.
The coming world is for those who do good. It is not for evil people.
On the judgement day, everyone will be judged by his works.

After that I saw a great and
splendid throne and the one seated upon it. At once heaven and earth
disappeared, leaving no trace. I saw the dead, both great and small,
standing before the throne while books were opened. Another book, the
Book of Life, was also opened. Then the dead were judged according to
the records of these books, that is, each one according to his works.
The sea gave up the dead it had kept, as did death and the
netherworld, so that all might be judged according to their works.
Then death and the netherworld were thrown into the lake of fire.
This lake of fire is the second death. All who were not recorded in
the Book of Life were thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 20.11-15)

Salvation
is this: We must accept that we have sinned against God. Then put our
faith in Him (the Lord Jesus) to receive the forgiveness of our sins.
After reconciling with God, we must not go on sinning but do good. We
must overcome evil with good. If we continue sinning, the
reconciliation becomes void because the element of sin which caused
us to be initially separated from God is still present. The Lord
Jesus died to take away sins and to destroy the works of evil. So,
those who believe in him follow in his footsteps. They stop sinning
and keep doing good so that the works of darkness may give way to the
light. The Lord is holy and good. To believe in Him means to take
after his righteousness.

What good is it, my brothers and
sisters, to profess faith without showing works? Such faith has no
power to save you. If a brother or sister is in need of clothes or
food and one of you says, "May things go well for you; be warm
and satisfied," without attending to their material needs, what
good is that? So it is for faith without deeds: it is totally dead.
Say to whoever challenges you, "You have faith and I have good
deeds; show me your faith apart from actions and I, for my part, will
show you my faith in the way I act." Do you believe there is one
God? Well enough, but do not forget that the demons also believe and
tremble with fear! You foolish one, do you have to be convinced that
faith without deeds is useless? Think of our father Abraham. Was he
not justified by the act of offering his son Isaac on the altar? So
you see, his faith was active along with his deeds and became perfect
by what he did. The word of Scripture was thus fulfilled, Abraham
believed in God so he was considered a righteous person and he was
called the friend of God. So you see, a person is acknowledged by
works and not by faith alone. Likewise, we read of Rahab, the
prostitute, that she was acknowledged and saved because she welcomed
the spies and showed them another way to leave. So, just as the body
is dead without its spirit, so faith without deeds is also dead James
2.14-26).

Our good
works is our light to the world that chases away darkness. It is by
doing good that we overcome the evil one. Do good and continue to do
good no matter how much evil attack is made on you. For you see, the
battle is between light and darkness, good and evil, the obedient and
the disobedient, the Lord God and the devil. It is your works that
shows whose you are. The people of the dark do not know love. They do
not know God. They can only see God if we let our righteousness in
him to shine everywhere. No one light a lamp and puts it under the
table. His righteous nature must become our nature so that the people
of the dark will see our good deeds and glorify the heavenly Father.
The Heavenly Father wants all his children to shine very brightly so
that the world will know him through us.

Our works
is what the Lord wants to see. Our works reveals the measure of faith
in our hearts. What we say or feel in our hearts is not that which
will save us. Goods works done in faith seals our redemption. In the
Lord’s letter to the seven churches, He made mention to all of them
about their works. The church of Ephesus has left her first works.
The church of Smyrna was rich in works. The church of Thyatira’s
second works were greater than the first. The church in Sardis had
dead works (no works). The church of Laodicea was lukewarm (neither
good/bad) (Rev 1-3).

Great
works can be done only in the power of the Holy Spirit. True
believers are not naked. They are clothed in white garment of good
deeds. The bride of Christ will be dressed with the white linen of
good works.

“This is the time to celebrate
the wedding of the Lamb, his bride has made herself ready. Fine
linen, bright and clean, is given her to wear. This linen stands for
the good works of the holy ones” (Rev 19.7-8).

Chapter 7

Sin & the Cross

Sin is
breaking God’s commandment. When we break his commandment, we go
against Him. Anyone who rejects God’s commandment makes himself
God’s enemy. If you say that you know God and you still sin, then
you do not know Him.

Anyone who commits a sin acts as
an enemy of the law of God; any sin is a rejection of his law. You
know that he came to take away our sins, and that there is no sin in
him. Whoever remains in him has no sin, whoever sins has not seen or
known him. My little children, do not be led astray; those who do
what is right are upright, just as Jesus Christ is upright. But those
who sin belong to the devil, for the devil sins from the beginning.
This is why the Son of God was shown to us, he was to undo the works
of the devil.

The Power of Sin

None was
found righteous in Israel because no one could keep the whole law
(Roans 3.13-19). Many were willing to obey but failed to obey because
of the weakness of the human nature. The old covenant law was holy.
It was meant to give life to those who obey it. It however brought
death to all those under it because none could it. Should we then say
that the old covenant law was unholy? Certainly Not! Sin, because it
is sin, used a holy thing to prove itself. Sin used the holy law to
gain power. Man was too weak to obey the law. This made man to become
a slave of sin. Man is unable to do the good thing that he wills to
do but he does the bad things he does not want to do. Sin gained
dominion over man. The prize of sin is death. If there is no sin,
there is no death. The old law though holy, became a law of sin and
death.

The Victory of the Cross

Those born of God do not sin, for
the seed of God remains in them; they cannot sin because they are
born of God. What is the way to recognize the children of God and
those of the devil? The one who does not do what is right is not of
God; so, too, the one who does not love his brother or sister (1 John
3.10 & 1 John 2.11-3).

Sin is
sin; whether be it that of the Christian or the unbeliever. Some
believers sin because they are yet to be born of spirit (perfected in
holiness). Some believers no longer sin because they have been born
of God and have put on God’s hoy nature. One who is born of God
(water and spirit) does not commit any more sins because he has
gained dominion over his sinful nature. Such a believer has come to
experience the full victory of the cross.

The cross
of Christ wrought for us the forgiveness of sins and the power to
stop sinning. The Lord Jesus went to the cross solely to take away
sins. He did not die for bodily health. He died to take away the sin
of the world. He died to bring us to complete restoration from sin.
He bore our sin in his body and by his wounds we are healed in our
spirit. Before the Lord Jesus healed in the land of Israel, he first
of all forgave sins. If sin is not forgiven, healing cannot be
administered. Bodily health is a by-product of the cross. The Lord
went to the cross to defeat sin so that we can be empowered to walk
in uprightness. We can live a sinless life. The power of the cross is
greater than the power of sin.

Sin can
no longer overpower believers because the Lord Jesus on the cross
freed us from the power of sin. Sin can no longer compel us to sin.
The cross wrought for us total freedom from sin and the old covenant
law system. This is the gospel of salvation. The Christian can now be
empowered to fight sin and win. Before the cross, no one could win
the fight over sin. But now, we can fight in faith and win. We must
believe what the Lord did for us on the cross. Without faith in the
Lord, the cross will be of no effect to us. You must put your faith
in the Lord Jesus to bring the reality of the victory of the cross
over sin in your life. Fight the good fight of faith and sin will
give way. The proof of the victory of the cross over sin is the
forgiveness & cleansing of sins by his blood and the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit. The blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit is the
power which the cross of the Lord Jesus won for us. The blood
cleanses from all sin. The Holy Spirit brings us to holiness.

Dominion
over sin does not come to us instantaneously when we first believe
but it is guaranteed for those who follow the Lord Jesus. He defeated
sin on the cross and those who follow him in faith will eventually
experience this victory in their lives. If we want to claim our
dominion over sin;

1. We
must first know that the cross of Christ freed us from the power of
sin.

2. We must refuse to go on sinning and receive forgiveness and
cleansing from all sin.

3. Thirdly, we should do all we can to be led by the Holy Spirit.
Only those who are led by the Spirit will be born of spirit. That
which is born of spirit is spirit. We can deal away with all
unrighteousness only in the power of the Holy Spirit. Gradually sin
will lose its grip on us. Then we shall become dead to sin (Romans
6.11). Those who walk after the spirit cannot gratify fleshly and
sinful desires.

The power of the Holy Spirit over sin

We can
live a sinless life. Do not wrongly believe that you can never stop
sinning or become perfect. The power of the Holy Spirit is stronger
than the power of sin.

When you
first believe, you receive from the Lord forgiveness and cleansing
from your sins. When you become spirit filled, you receive power to
deal away with your sinful nature. If you are not spirit filled, you
will continue to live after the flesh even if you are a believer. The
Holy Spirit is the power of the believer to have dominion over sin.

The
believer who is not spirit filled can easily return/continue his
sinful way of life. Such a believer should be careful not to commit
the sins that lead unto death. If he commits those deadly sins, he
may lose his salvation except there is repentance.

We must
do all we can to be filled with the Holy Spirit and not settle for
any fake baptism. We must copy the example of the five wise virgins
who gave up their all so as to buy as much oil as they could. We must
not copy the example of the rich young ruler who could not sell his
all to buy treasure in heaven (Mathew 19.16-30). We must not be like
the crowd who followed the Lord Jesus but were not ready to pay the
price of discipleship (Luke 14.25-33). If we want it to be filled by
the Holy Spirit, we must liberate our hearts. One who is born of
water and Spirit (has put on the new man, Christ Jesus) has gained
dominion over sin. If we walk according to the spirit, we will be
born of spirit. Those who walk according to the spirit do not give in
to sinful desires (Galatians 5.18-24).

By our
own strength, we can never win. If we try to walk under the old
covenant system, we fall from grace. The old covenant relied solely
on the strength of man while the new covenant relies on the power of
the Holy Spirit. Under the new covenant, the law of the spirit of
life in Christ Jesus operates while under the old covenant, the law
of sin and death. The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has
set us free from the law of sin and death. You may have believed in
the Lord Jesus but if you do not operate under the law of the spirit
of life in Christ Jesus, you will not gain victory over sin. Only
those who follow the Holy Spirit are on the path to victory. You
cannot walk after the spirit except you are spirit filled.

There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after
the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For
what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God
sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin,
condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might
be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit. …..For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye
through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live
(Romans 8.1-13).

Chapter 8

Righteousness &
Holiness

Some
believe that so long as we are in this sinful mortal body, no one can
be perfect. They believe that only God is/can be perfect. Some
Christians believe that they are made perfectly holy when they
believe in the Christ Jesus. What is righteousness? What is holiness?

Do Righteousness & Holiness mean the
same?

Righteousness
is the beginning of living a holy life. A righteous man is a man who
is reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. You are made righteous
when you believe in the Lord Jesus and receive the forgiveness and
cleansing of your sins. Holiness means to live a sinless live. If you
are to live a sinless live, you must begin with the washing away of
your past sins. In other words, if you are to be holy, you must begin
with righteousness.

When we
believe in the Lord Jesus and receive the forgiveness of our sins, we
are justified and made righteous (Romans 5.1). Receiving forgiveness
of our sins reconciles us back to God. The blood of Jesus Christ made
perfect in righteousness all those who believe in him. The
power of the Holy Spirit is making perfect in holiness all
those who walk by the spirit. Through justification, we are made
perfectly righteous and through sanctification, we are made perfectly
holy (Hebrews 10.14).

We were
perfected in righteousness by the blood of Christ at repentance but
we are being perfected in holiness through the sanctification work of
the Holy Spirit. We were reconciled to God by the blood of Christ but
we will be saved by His life through the sanctification work of the
Holy Spirit (Romans 5.8-9). In Romans 6.19, Apostle Paul briefs on
the Christian’s journey to salvation.

--Freed
from sin (Made righteous)

--Make yourself a slave to righteousness (unconditional obedience to
the demands righteousness)

--Bear
the fruit of holiness from being a slave to righteousness

--Reap
eternal life from holiness

But now that you have been set
free from sin and have become slaves of righteousness, the benefit
you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life (Romans
6.22NIV).

We must
seek to be perfected in holiness.

Therefore, since we have these
promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that
contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence
for God (2 Corinthians 7.1).

What is God’s standard of Holiness for us?

--Be perfect as He is perfect
(Mathew 5.48).

--Be fashioned according to the pattern of the first born son who is
an example for us all (Rom 8.29; Eph. 1.5).

--Be holy as He is holy (1 peter
1.15-16; 1 Titus 4.3).

If sin
abounds, grace abounds much more (Romans 5.20). If the power of sin
is great, then the power of the Holy Spirit is much greater to redeem
us from the power of sin. We must not go on sinning but receive the
abounding grace of God through the power of the Holy Spirit to subdue
sinful human nature and its deeds. Let us not be deceived by the evil
one into thinking that we can never attain the God’s level of
holiness. The Father in Heaven is calling us to be holy as He is
holy. His abounding grace is available to meet up with that standard.
We should strive to be holy as the Heavenly father is Holy. He is a
Holy God and his children must be holy. Anyone who is still sins is
not born of God (1 John 3.9).

We should
put off the old fallen man and his deeds and put on the new man,
Christ Jesus, and his deeds through obedience. We should make
ourselves slaves of righteousness by obeying unconditionally the law
of Christ Jesus. The good soil bears fruit to perfection by keeping
his word perseveringly.

You must
do all you can to have a clean break with sin. Courageously bear the
sufferings of obedience. It is very difficult to obey God without
suffering any lose. You will lose your property, freedom, friends,
and even your life for choosing to stand by the truth and obey God.
Be ready to lose. Stand strong in faith and do not be afraid to lose.
For you see, it is only when you have lost your life, than you will
gain it back. But if you try to keep it, you will lose it (Mathew
10.39). Only those who stand firm to end will be saved (Mathew
10.22).

The crown
is not for the swift, rather it for those who reach the end (James
1.12). Not all righteous people will be saved but all holy people
will be saved (1 Peter 4.17-18NIV). The righteous and the holy do not
receive the same reward (Rev
22.11-12). We grow up in our salvation as we grow in holiness
(1 Peter 2.2). The children of God are those who nature have been
changed to become Christ like. They become the righteousness of God
because their nature is the same righteous nature of God. The world
can see God just by looking at them.

The one
who is no longer condemned to die is the righteous believer who no
longer walks after the flesh but after the spirit (Romans 8.1-14).
The righteous believer who walks after the flesh will die. If by the
Spirit, we put to death, the works of the flesh, we shall surely live
(Romans 8.13).

We must
keep pursuing perfection till we pass out of our earthly bodies and
never at any time in life consider that we have already attained this
holiness. If the Lord finds anything unworthy in us, we should be
ready to receive strength to deal away with any ungodliness.

I do not believe I have already
reached the goal, nor do I consider myself perfect, but I press on
till I conquer Christ Jesus, as I have already been conquered by him.
No, brothers and sisters, I do not claim to have claimed the prize
yet. I say only this: forgetting what is behind me, I race forward
and run towards the goal, my eyes on the prize to which God has
called us from above in Christ Jesus. Let all of us who claim to be
perfect have the same way of thinking, but if there is something on
which you differ, God will make it clear to you (Phil 3.12-15)

The
apostolic epistles are filled with the exhortations to live holy
lives before God:

Since we have such promises, dear
friends, let us purify ourselves from all defilement of body and
spirit, and complete the work of sanctification in the fear of God (2
Corinthians 7.1 Catholic Bible)

Follow peace with all men, and
holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently
lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness
springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be
any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of
meat sold his birthright (Hebrews 12.14-16).

We must
not deaden our consciences by ignoring its call to sanctification.
The guilt of sin is meant to bring you to repentance. Sin must be
confessed and not covered because it is the fruit of darkness. When
we sin, our conscience pricks us, we feel guilty and then we confess
and repent of that sin before the Lord. He then washes us in his
blood and empowers us not to sin again. Without the sense of guilt,
there is no true repentance. If there is no repentance, there is no
fruitful change. We must rely on self-strength but live by grace
through faith in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, you are holy,
just and fair in all your ways. Direct me on how to walk by your
Spirit. I give up my pride, self-righteousness and self-confidence. I
need your grace to transform my life to the image of your son. I want
to be holy and perfect as you are. I want to be a true child of
yours. My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes see you, I abhor
myself and repent in dust and ashes. You are a Holy God and your name
will forever be held holy. Glorify your name in me. In Jesus’ name
I pray, Amen.

Chapter 9

The Kingdom of God

A kingdom
is a king and his people. If there are no people, there is no
kingdom. As the people increase in number, so too does the kingdom.
Also, if there is no king, there is no kingdom. A future king works
to set the foundation on which his kingdom will be built i.e. the
kind of people, how to get the people and the entry requirements.

God is building his kingdom.

The
kingdom of God is God and his people. He appointed the Son of Man to
build this kingdom and rule over it. God had spoken through the OT
prophets of his coming kingdom. John the Baptist was God’s last
messenger sent to announce the soon arrival of the kingdom and to
prepare the way for the Son of Man. The Son of Man, the Lord Jesus
Christ, is God’s appointed king. He will be crown king when the
kingdom is complete. The Lord Jesus Christ came to the earth from
heaven. He went all around Israel preaching the good news of the
Kingdom and displaying the powers of the kingdom. He gave many signs;
he healed the sick, raised the dead, freed the bound, commanded
nature, changed water into wine, multiplied two loaves and five
fishes to feed over 5000 men excluding women and children etc.

God is
calling people from all nations of the earth to become his people.
John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus Christ and the disciples preached
the gospel of the kingdom. From the time of John the Baptist, many
people believe this gospel and are forcing their way into the kingdom
(Mat. 24.14).

The Lord
Jesus laid the foundation stone on which other stones will be built.
The Lord laid the foundation stone with his blood by dying on the
cross. By his cross, he opened the way for man to enter his great
kingdom. Ever since his death on the cross, the kingdom is growing.
The kingdom started as a small mustard seed but it is growing to
become the largest tree (Mathew 13.31). It started as a small stone
which growing to fill the whole earth.

The
kingdom of God must pass through two phases: the spiritual reign and
then the earthly reign.

The Spiritual Kingdom

Presently,
God reigns over people on an individual basis. Those who believe unto
repentance in the Lord Jesus enter into his kingdom. He leads them
one on one by his Holy Spirit. God must rule in the life of the
person who wants to be one of his people. The heart of man must be
devoted entirely to God. He must worship God in spirit and truth. The
believer must walk after the Lord in Spirit. There must be a personal
relationship between God and the individual – a relationship of
trust and obedience. The believer must submit to his leadership by
obeying his rules. Presently, God is ruling in the heart and lives of
many people both in the seen and unseen world. These are the people
who will make up God’s kingdom in the world to come.